1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a passenger conveyer such as a moving sidewalk or an escalator, and particularly to a variable-speed passenger conveyer and the handrail device thereof wherein the movement speed of the palettes serving as the running board is changed between the boarding and disembarking ends.
2. Description of the Related Art
Passenger conveyers which transport passengers without causing the passengers to walk have recently been widely installed in airports, train stations, tourist areas, and so forth.
The majority of such known passenger conveyers is such wherein the speed is constant from the boarding end to the disembarking end. The speed at the boarding end to the disembarking end needs to be set at 40 meters per minute or slower in order to maintain safety, and the speed remains constant from the boarding end to the disembarking end.
However, there are passenger conveyers which have been installed for access to urban mass transit facilities, some of which are long, and there is strong demand for an increase in the speed thereof at the intermediate area thereof.
Variable-speed passenger conveyers wherein the movement speed of the palettes which serve as the running board is changed between the boarding and disembarking ends are known from the following Patent Publications:
The "Slow-speed transporting device" disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 49-31470 involves an arrangement wherein a group of comb-shaped palettes each entering and exiting each other are in the forward direction linked with a plurality of link-type supporting legs, providing a difference in height in the rails guiding the bottom portion of the supporting legs of the palettes, so that the overlap amount in a low speed zone is increased by lowering the rail and so that the overlap amount in a high speed zone is decreased by raising the rail, thereby changing the speed of the running board.
The "Moving sidewalk having an acceleration/deceleration mechanism" disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 50-6081 moves the supporting running boards linking the main running boards in the height direction so as to change the length of the link, thereby changing the speed of the running board.
Also, the "Variable-speed moving sidewalk and escalator" disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 50-132677 involves an arrangement wherein a continuously formed screw shaft is rotated wherein the screw pitch changes from small to large from the low-speed zone which is the boarding end to the high-speed zone, and which changes from large to small from the high-speed zone to the low-speed zone which is the disembarking end, thereby changing the speed of the running boards guided by the screw shaft.
However, the art disclosed in the Patent Publications have the following problems as known art:
The "Slow-speed transporting device" disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 49-31470 is problematic in that the palettes expand and shrink even if the passenger is in the middle of the pallet when boarding, and thus the meshing of the palettes may cause discomfort for the passengers due to the surface moving upon which they are standing.
The "Moving sidewalk having an acceleration/deceleration mechanism" disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 50-6081 is problematic in that the addition of supporting running boards increases the cost of the device. Also, the supporting structure is complex due to the intersection of the main running boards and the supporting running boards, and further, the main structure including the supporting rollers is markedly restricted, space-wise.
Also, the "Variable-speed moving sidewalk and escalator" disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 50-132677 is problematic in application to a long-distance passenger transporting conveyer in that manufacturing a variable-pitch screw shaft over a long distance and at high precision is extremely difficult, and that manufacturing costs markedly increase. Also, a long screw shaft necessitates intermediate bearings, and thus is rather impractical.
Also, there have been proposed variable-speed passenger conveyers arranged such that the speed at the boarding end is a certain speed, the speed then gradually accelerating to a higher speed at the intermediate area, and then gradually decelerating to the same speed at the disembarking end, thereby maintaining the safety of passengers boarding and disembarking, but the majority of such variable-speed passenger conveyers has involved an arrangement of changing the spacing of the palettes to change the speed.
A proposal for a variable-speed passenger conveyer is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 49-43371 as a "variable-speed driving apparatus", wherein the rail height of a triangular belt link linked to a carriage and two palettes running along a rail changes in height in the direction of progression, thereby changing the palette spacing.
However, the art disclosed in the above Patent Publication has the following problems.
(1) The rail height rapidly changes and the acceleration of the palettes temporarily becomes extremely great, giving the passengers on the palettes a sense of discomfort while riding thereon. PA0 (2) The structure is complex, the space occupied by the structure underneath the palettes is great, and facility costs are high. PA0 (3) The belt link is flexible, so it is difficult to precisely set the palette spacing, and belt stretching occurs during operation, deteriorating comfort in riding. PA0 (4) The belt link is flexible, so operation must perpetually be made with a pulling load applied thereto, and in the event that the traction force is small or a compression load occurs, the link does not operate. PA0 (1) The link is provided in a V-shape within a vertical plane, so transmission of force is difficult at the handrail inversion portion, and there is the problem of interference between the inner rail guide roller and handrail and link. PA0 (2) There are two factors operating on the opening angle of the link at the high-speed zone, namely, the opening operation due to the claw spacing of the driving chain, and the opening operation due to change in the inner and outer guide rail spacing, so there is the problem that both operations interfere with one another and smooth movement of the handrail pieces cannot be obtained. PA0 (3) There are no means for adjusting the circumference of the link (the length in the transporting direction), so mounting and adjusting the link is difficult, and further, it is difficult to engage the claws of the driving chain with the upper and lower portions of the inner rail guide roller. PA0 (4) The structure is such that the shafts of the link linkage portions, the inner rail guides roller, etc., are axially borne by the outer/inner guide rail, so the shaft bearing structure is unstable.
On the other hand, there is the need to make the movement speed of the handrails variable, in addition to making the pallets variable in speed.
A proposal to make the handrails variable in speed is known in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-98481.
The structure of the handrail described in the aforementioned Patent Publication involves loop-shaped guide rails provided on the outer side and inner side within a vertical plane, wherein the spacing of the aforementioned outer and inner guide rails is narrowed at the high speed zone and widened at the boarding and disembarking ends. Provided on the aforementioned outer guide rail is a handrail piece stretchably linked in the direction of transportation via the outer guide roller, and provided on the inner guide rail is an inner guide roller which is moved by means of being engaged with claws on a high-speed driving chain.
Further, the front and back of the aforementioned handrail piece and an inner guide roller are linked by a V-shaped link provided within a vertical plane.
In the above construction, at the point that the inner guide roller is driven by the driving chain, the angle of the link is an acute angle at the boarding and disembarking ends, due to the spacing between the outer and inner guide rails being large, thus narrowing the spacing between the handrail pieces and creating a state of low speed for the handrails.
Also, the angle of the link is an obtuse angle at the intermediate high-speed zone, due to the narrow spacing between the outer and inner guide rails, thus widening the spacing between the handrail pieces and creating a high speed state for the handrails.
However, the aforementioned known art has the following problems:
Also, regarding variable-speed handrails, the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 50-26277 is an arrangement wherein a plurality of independent handrail devices with differing speeds are each linearly arrayed.
Also, as a structure of variable-speed handrails, the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 55-11978 is an arrangement wherein the handrails are overlapped in the driving direction.
However, the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 50-26277 is problematic in that the handrail devices are independent, the structure is complicated and expensive, and further, the passengers are inconvenienced in that there is the need to re-grasp the handrail at each joint, making for passenger discomfort while riding thereon. Further, the speed cycle of the running boards and the handrails is not matched, and thus is inconvenient in that there is the need to re-grasp the handrail even while holding the same handrail.
Also, the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 55-11978 as a variable-speed handrail configuration is problematic in that there is the danger of the fingers of the passenger becoming pinched when the handrail unit shrinks.